New project bike, Honda MB8

If you have a keen eye you may of noticed the black MBX80 in the header image has morphed in to a black MB8, well there is good reason for this as my second 'spare' MBX80 is now sold and I have just replaced it with a German import Honda MB8 via the Honda M Shop

So, why a MB8?

The answer for me is quite simple, way back in the mists of time I learnt to ride a geared bike on a black and gold MB5. At School we had a lesson called 'road traffic studies', I took this as an option as my 'soft' subject to balance the triple science I was already doing... Anyway in this lesson we got to ride some mopeds around the school playground, the fleet included a Suzuki FZ50, Honda Camino, Honda C50 Cub and the MB5 which I immediately took a shine to, so I have always loved this model. Fast forward to today I had the opportunity to move on my spare MBX and take the plunge on buying a MB.

I do love the MB5 but I'm not overly keen on 50cc bikes (sorry!), so the obvious solution was a French or German market MB8. The MB8 is pretty much identical to the 50 apart from a variation of the tank graphic and obviously the 80cc head and parts to make the 80 work, but basically and most importantly they are the same bike. Lastly I really like the idea of running the MB8 with my MBX80 as they make a great pair of 2-generations of  Honda's 2-strokes and will display well together.

After making the decision to change it seemed I was spoilt for choice, with Dirk and the Honda M Shop having 5 bikes at the time plus a bike on ebay. After much deliberation I opted for a black and gold bike (like the 50 I learnt on) from the M Shop that needed only light restoration, but all the important bits were either done or good. It just had an engine rebuild, all the electrics sorted, new battery and the most importantly the rims were excellent. The deal was done and Dirk and Patricia delivered it to my house in their van.

My new bike is a German model so it has a restriction to 80KPH (French bikes are full power), this can be removed but I'll need to do a little more investigation in to whats involved first. The bike was first registered in Munich, West Germany (yes, remember East and West Germany?) in 1981 and came with its original log book with the owners name who was Paul Westner, and the original Honda hand book which is handily in multi language with English. The exhaust has seen better days and Dirk kindly gave me a replacement.

As it is the bike could be used and enjoyed for many years, but the point of it will be to restore it to a good overall condition, as always I will share the story with you on this site.

The first thing to do with an imported bike is to register it on the NOVA (Notification Of Vehicle Arrivals) system, this is the governments website that you must declare an imported bike on. HMRC will then notify you if there is any duty to pay but on an old bike this there shouldn't be any tax due, but it is a legal step that you must do and failure to do so could result in fines from HMRC. To make the declaration you will first need a Government gateway account, its easy to set up and once this is done you can can add the bike to a new deceleration. Once your application is complete you are issued with a NOVA certificate and with this you can then register the bike with the DVLA. I applied for my NOVA today (10/12), I'll update on the next step of importing a bike as soon as I hear back.

UPDATE: HMRC got back to me on the 11th informing me I made a mistake on my submission (I mistakenly submitted it as an amended claim rather than a new claim). That evening I re-submitted the form and had and instant reply saying it went straight through with the NOVA ref number and that I had zero VAT to pay. This is the first stage of getting it legal.

Owners bikes: Dene Gorfin bike 3, part 1

Our friend and serial MBX restorer Dene Gorfin is making great progress on his third MBX80 project, particularly impressive is the finish on the wheels. Dene said:

" Just a quick update on latest project, got some parts back from the coaters today, very pleased (especially how well the wheels came back) considering how weathered it all was.

I have got some more parts on order so hopefully in about 3 weeks once I have all the new parts and finished cleaning the reusable bits i will start the build."

*** If you have a restoration story that you would like to share please get in touch!

Honda MBX80, project 2

So… I have gone and bought myself another MBX80, I hear you ask ‘why another MBX80?’, I’ll counter that with ‘Why not!’

Seriously though, I have been on the lookout for another project to work on after my bike is finished and in the end the list got very small, with the main contenders were a Honda NS125F or R, Honda MB-8 and a Rothmans MBX80. Either bike would of fitted the bill although I was leaning towards the MB8 for cost reasons, then I was reminded of a MBX80 that was for sale from Jay Hancock who is a fellow moderator on the Facebook M Club, so the deal was done and the bike was collected.

So the next question is what do I do with the restoration of bike 2?

Partly inspired by Dean Gorfin’s parts special I think this is the direction of this machine. Actually a lot of the cost of a restoration is chasing that factory or showroom finish so bike 2 will not be pushed down this direction. It is possible to make a great restoration with a great finish but not factory, so things like stainless bolts, braided brake lines and powdercoated parts. Also as one of the bikes on my list was a Rothmans this is going to be the colour of this bike.

paint job inspiration 

UPDATE: After a change of plans I have now sold this bike, so this project wont go ahead. However there will still be a second bike project that I will share, just not this one, stay tuned!

My bike: Restoration, Parts, New old stock petrol tank

Its been a while since I have done something positive towards my own restoration and the petrol tank is something I wanted to get perfect.

On a web search I found a Dutch website called  Brommer Classics and they actually had a brand new old stock fuel tank in white, this I had to have....

I spoke a couple of times via email to a chap called Rob and the deal was done and the money transferred. They shipped on Friday 5th April and the tank turned up on Monday 8th, not that's service! The tank was extremely well packaged and was completely as Rob described, New, New New!

Brommer Classics have a selection of new and used spare parts for the MBX as well as a few bikes for sale, check them out here.

My Bike: the project begins

Here it is, after a 22 year gap I have another MBX80! I have been thinking about this bike for quite some time even to the point where I bought a NOS nose fairing from eBay, just in case I got another bike...

Well after a few false starts I finally won a bike on eBay, it was located in Ramsgate, Kent, so I got the company van and off I went. The guy who owned it (Bob, or Busa Boy on the sixteener special forum) seemed like a good bloke, funnily he always wanted one but it had to go as he had too many bikes (mostly MB5's). The bike is a 1994 on an A plate, had lots of owners, high mileage, but ran and most importantly was complete. As a bonus it also came with a NOS belly pan and a used but decent rear mud guard.
My plan for the bike is a complete restoration, replace or restore everything so in effect what we have is a mint, factory fresh bike. My vision I have in my mind is perfection, but as I have no set time scale to finish nothing will be rushed or 'make do'. I am planning on doing the restoration with my Dad, so we will be sharing jobs.
We are planning a complete strip down in the summer with the view of have a rolling restored chassis - frame, swing arm, forks, bearings, wheels all done by winter. Also a list of our most wanted parts done by the Stafford show in October.